Islamic State seizes Syria's ancient Palmyra - BBC News BBC News Islamic State seizes Syria's ancient Palmyra 21 May 2015 From the section Middle East Related Topics Close share panel Media captionWhy does IS destroy ancient history? Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria have entered the Unesco World Heritage site of Palmyra after seizing the town next to the ancient ruins, reports say. Unesco says its destruction would be "an enormous loss to humanity", but no damage has been reported there yet. IS now controls the nearby airport, prison and intelligence HQ, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says. The militants have previously demolished ancient sites in Iraq that pre-date Islam. The BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut says acute international concern over Palmyra might actually spur the jihadists on to make destroying the site a priority. The ancient ruins are situated in a strategically important area on the road between the Syrian capital, Damascus, and the contested eastern city of Deir al-Zour. Palmyra is also close to oil and gas fields. Elsewhere in Syria, 40 rebels from Islamist factions were killed in Aleppo when government forces bombed a rebel headquarters, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Image copyright AP Image caption The oasis city of Palmyra lies on a strategic route through the desert Loudspeakers An activist who has family members in Palmyra told the BBC that his relatives wanted to flee but there was no way out. IS fighters were searching the city for Syrian army soldiers, he said, and residents were being warned via mosque loudspeakers not to hide them. He also said the inhabitants were angry that Western media are focusing on the ancient ruins, and not the population. "We still don't have accurate figures about how many civilians there are in Palmyra but there are plenty," he said. "People think the West cares more about the civilisation than about the people who created or initiated this civilisation." Tadmur, the Arabic name for the modern settlement next to Palmyra, would normally have a population of around 70,000, but it has recently been swollen by an influx of people displaced from other combat areas. Syrian state media said pro-government forces had pulled out after "assuring the evacuation" of "most" of its inhabitants.

Talal Barazi, the Governor of Homs Province, which includes Palmyra, told the Associated Press that 1,300 people had fled the city over the past few days, and more were trying to leave. Image copyright AFP Image caption Palmyra rose to prominence under the Romans but its rulers later created a rival empire of their own Image copyright AFP Rising out of the desert, the site contains the monumental ruins of a great city, which Unesco and others consider one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world. Dating back to the 1st and 2nd Century, when the region was under Roman rule, Palmyra is dominated by a grand, colonnaded street. The Syrian Observatory reported that more than 100 pro-government troops were killed in overnight clashes around Palmyra. A researcher from the monitoring group also told the BBC on Friday that IS now controls more than half of Syrian territory. However, the BBC's Arab Affairs Editor Sebastian Usher says this figure may give a false impression because there are large areas to the east under IS control that are not very significant strategically.

Analysis: Jim Muir, BBC News, Beirut Media captionAs well as being a World Heritage site Palmyra is strategically important, as Jim Muir reports Many questions will now be asked in Damascus and Baghdad - and above all in Washington - about how the militants have managed to score major advances in both Iraq and Syria this week despite all the efforts to stop them. IS was supposed to be on the defensive in Iraq, where the prime minister announced weeks ago the launching of a campaign to drive the militants out of Anbar province. Now he's lost its capital, Ramadi, just days before they took Palmyra in Syria. The Western coalition's bombing campaign has clearly hurt IS where it could. But it could never compensate for ground forces which are not competent, equipped or motivated enough to stand firm and hit back. Only the Kurds in the north of both countries (most recently in north-eastern Syria) have proven able to do that. Your memories of Palmyra Unesco's director-general, Irina Bokova, said any destruction to Palmyra would be "not just a war crime but... an enormous loss to humanity".

"It belongs to the whole of humanity and I think everyone today should be worried about what is happening," she said in a video statement . Ms Bokova told the BBC that protecting sites like Palmyra had become a security imperative, as well as a cultural concern, because, she claimed, the militias were using trafficked artefacts to get funds: "These are not some lovers of art," she said. "This is part of the financing of extremism and it is absolutely imperative that we stop these channels of illicit trafficking." 'World's battle' Syria's head of antiquities, Maamoun Abdul Karim, said on Wednesday that hundreds of Palmyra's statues had been moved to safety but that large monuments could not be transferred. "This is the entire world's battle," Mr Abdul Karim warned. Image copyright EPA Image caption Palmyra is situated in an area between the capital, Damascus, and Deir al-Zour Image copyright EPA Image caption Syrian troops engaged IS but have now withdrawn Are you in Palmyra? Do you have friends and family there? You can email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with your experiences. If you would be happy to speak further to a BBC journalist, please include a contact telephone number.

You can also tweet your stories to @BBC_HaveYourSay or text 61124. If you are outside the UK, send them to the international number +44 7624 800 100. Or WhatsApp us on +44 7525 900971 Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk ,r text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (international) or via our WhatsApp number +44 (0)7525 900971 . Isis destroys ancient tombs in Palmyra | World news | The Guardian Syria Isis destroys ancient tombs in Palmyra Antiquities chief says three towers blown up, one dating back to AD44, as apparent attempt to obliterate Syrian city continues The tower tomb of Elhbel in Palmyra, before its destruction.

Photograph: Alamy Friday 4 September 2015 05.59 EDT First published on Friday 4 September 2015 04.51 EDT Close This article is 1 year old Islamic State has destroyed three tower tombs in Palmyra that date back to the first and second centuries, Syria’s antiquities director has said, in what appears to be the latest act in a systematic effort to obliterate the ruins of the ancient city. On Friday, Maamoun Abdulkarim said the tombs in Palmyra , which was among the best preserved sites from antiquity, were blown up 10 days ago. The Jamblique, Elhbel and Kithot tombs were built in AD83, AD103 and AD44 respectively. He said the details of the destruction were confirmed by the testimony of residents and satellite imagery of the sites obtained by Boston University. The news emerged days after Isis blew up two historic temples in Palmyra. The terror group first destroyed the Temple of Baal Shamin and then the Temple of Bel , one of the most notable religious structures in the Middle East to survive from the ancient world.

Isis is systematically destroying Palmyra, top antiquities official says Read more The group has also beheaded the keeper of Palmyra’s antiquities , Khaled al-Assad, and tied his body to a pole in the city. Isis considers ancient cultural artefacts, particularly those that venerate gods, a form of idolatry according to its puritanical interpretation of Islam. The group has rampaged across Iraq and Syria , inflicting grave damage on the countries’ ancient monuments, destroying artefacts from the Assyrian and Akkadian empires and obliterating Christian and Shia shrines. Isis took control of Palmyra in May , driving out forces loyal to the regime of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad , after a week-long siege. Experts feared that Palmyra’s fate would mirror that of other historical sites seized by the militants. Pinterest Inside the Elhbel tomb. Photograph: Alamy Earlier this week, Abdulkarim told the Guardian in an interview that he expected Isis to continue its systematic destruction of Palmyra with impunity in the absence of action by the international community.

He said: “We have lost all hope, we have lost all hope that the international community will resist and we lost hope of any international movement to save the city. These are savages and [they] will attack other structures. This is a cultural war and everyone should unite, whether they support the government or the opposition. This is the beginning of the complete loss of Palmyra.” Islamic State seizes ancient town of Palmyra in Syria Islamic State seizes ancient town of Palmyra in Syria It remains unclear how close to the famed archaeological site the militants have come. Post to Facebook Islamic State seizes ancient town of Palmyra in Syria It remains unclear how close to the famed archaeological site the militants have come. Check out this story on USATODAY.com: CancelSend A link has been sent to your friend's email address. Posted! A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. 13 To find out more about Facebook commenting please read the Conversation Guidelines and FAQs Islamic State seizes ancient town of Palmyra in Syria Zeina Karam and Sameer N. Yacoub, Associated Press Published 3:43 p.m.

ET May 20, 2015 | Updated 7:43 p.m. ET May 20, 2015 x Share Islamic State fighters have reportedly seized about a third of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra after heavy fighting against the military and allied combatants. Wochit The ancient Roman city of Palmyra, northeast of Damascus, Syria. (Photo: SANA via AP) BEIRUT (AP) — Islamic State extremists captured the ancient Syrian town of Palmyra after government defense lines there collapsed Wednesday, a stunning triumph for the group only days after it captured the strategic city of Ramadi in Iraq. It was unclear by nightfall how close to Palmyra’s famed archaeological site the militants had advanced, activists said, adding that Syrian soldiers were seen fleeing the area. The ruins at Palmyra are one of the world’s most renowned historic sites and there were fears the extremists would destroy them as they did major archaeological sites in Iraq. The UNESCO world heritage site is famous for its 2,000-year-old towering Roman-era colonnades and other ruins and priceless artifacts.

Before the war, thousands of tourists a year visited the remote desert outpost, a cherished landmark referred to by Syrians as the “Bride of the Desert.” Ancient Palmyra ruins threatened as ISIL advances in Syria The fall of the town to the Islamic State group after a week of fighting was an enormous loss to the government, not only because of its cultural significance, but because it opens the way for the extremists to advance to key government-held areas, including Damascus and the Syrian coast to the south and southwest, as well as the contested eastern city of Deir el-Zour to the east. Next to it are also important gas and oil fields in the country’s central region. Last Slide Next Slide It was not immediately clear how close the militants were to the ruins, which are just southwest of the town. “I am terrified,” said Maamoun Abdulkarim, Syria’s director-general of antiquities and museums. “This is a PR battle for Daesh, and they will insist on scoring victory against civilization by destroying” the ancient ruins, he said, using the Arabic acronym for the group.

The fall of Palmyra just days after Islamic State fighters seized the strategic Iraqi city of Ramadi showed the extremists’ ability to advance on multiple fronts at opposite ends of a sprawling battlefield that spans the two countries — and erased any sense that recent IS losses in Tikrit and elsewhere had dealt a major blow to the militants. The Syrian Observatory for human rights reported that government forces collapsed in the face of IS attacks and withdrew from the town late Wednesday. Beibares Tellawi, an activist in Homs province, also confirmed IS was in control of the town. He said the militants had reached the notorious Tadmur prison, where thousands of Syrian dissidents have been imprisoned and tortured over the years. The fate of the prisoners, believed to number around 1,000, was not immediately known. Voices: Priceless ancient city threatened by Islamic State Syrian state TV acknowledged that pro-government forces had withdrawn from Palmyra, and the IS-affiliated Aaamaq News Agency reported the town was “under the complete control of the Islamic State fighters.” IS fighters had also seized control of the Jazl oil field in the Homs countryside, the Aaamaq report said.

Earlier Wednesday, Homs governor Talal Barazzi said Islamic State militants had infiltrated overnight into some districts in the northern part of Palmyra and were engaged in fierce gun battles with government forces as snipers roamed the streets. He said at least 19 people had died by early Wednesday, including seven civilians and 12 from the pro-government militia known as the National Defense Forces. It was not immediately known how many people died as fighting continued throughout the day. Abdulkarim said workers were able to save hundreds of statues and masterpieces from Palmyra that were transported to safe houses in Damascus. “But how do you save colonnades that weigh a ton? How do you save temples and cemeteries and, and, and?” he asked. He appealed to the international community to declare “a red line” around Palmyra and called on the U.S.-led coalition to “at least prevent IS convoys from reaching it.” Until now, U.S.-led airstrikes in Syria have focused on areas outside Syrian government control so as not to appear to be aiding President Bashar Assad.

Syrian antiquities expert and opposition figure Amr Al-Azm noted the irony of anti-Assad activists having to call on the U.S.-led coalition to support Assad’s forces in the city against the Islamic State militants. “We are trapped in a sickening paradox where, to save the world heritage site of Palmyra we are forced to call on the international community and the coalition to attack ISIS forces in support of the Syrian regime, which is defending the city,” he wrote in a Facebook posting this week. The majority of the ruins are located in Palmyra’s south, and the militants entered Wednesday from the north after seizing the state security building from government forces. But their presence has sparked concerns they would destroy the ruins as they have done with major archaeological sites in neighboring Iraq. The Islamic State group’s advance in Syria followed a major military victory in neighboring Iraq, where the militants’ captured the strategic city of Ramadi, capital of the country’s largest Sunni province, over the weekend. Thousands of displaced people fleeing the violence in Ramadi and western Anbar province poured into Baghdad on Wednesday after the central government waived restrictions and granted them conditional entry. The exodus is the latest in the aftermath of the fall of Ramadi.

The Shiite-led government in Baghdad is struggling to come up with a plan to reverse the astonishing loss, pledging a counter-offensive and relying on Iranian-backed Shiite militiamen to join the battle. Athal al-Fahdawi, an Anbar councilman, said that thousands of civilians from Ramadi who were stranded on open land for days, are now being allowed to cross a bridge spanning the Euphrates River and enter Baghdad province. On Tuesday, Anbar officials said five of the displaced residents had died from exhaustion in the Bzebiz region, where the displaced had been forced to stay while they were kept away from Baghdad. According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 40,000 people have been displaced from Anbar since Friday when the militants began their final push for Ramadi. In the past, people fleeing the Sunni province have been prevented from entering Baghdad due to fears that militants might mingle in with the crowds and sneak into the Iraqi capital. Residents still left in Ramadi told The Associated Press by telephone Wednesday that Islamic State militants were urging them over loudspeakers not to be afraid and to stay in the city.

However, they were not preventing those wanting to leave the city to go, the residents said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear for their safety. It is still unknown when the Iraqi government’s expected wide-scale operation to recapture Ramadi and other cities will start. Baghdad officials and leaders of the so-called Popular Mobilization Units, Shiite militias who are fighting on the side of the Iraqi military and security forces, have repeatedly said they need time for a military buildup and reconnaissance. Yacoub reported from Baghdad. Associated Press writers Sinan Salaheddin in Baghdad and Albert Aji in Damascus contributed to this report. 228 CONNECT TWEET 1 LINKEDIN 13 COMMENTEMAILMORE Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Read or Share this story: NEVER MISS OUT The Short List Let us bring the headlines to you every night. Stay current and catch up on the biggest stories of the day.

ISIS said to have blown up ancient temple in Palmyra - CNN.com UNESCO says the destruction of the temple is "a new war crime" The Temple of Baalshamin is reported to have been rigged with explosives ISIS seized the Palmyra ruins in Syria in May, prompting fears for the ancient site (CNN) The burgeoning list of appalling acts by ISIS has grown even longer: The Islamic extremist group has blown up a nearly 2,000-year-old temple in the historic ruins of Palmyra, Syria. UNESCO, the United Nations cultural organization, called the destruction of the Temple of Baalshamin a "war crime." Maamoun Abdulkarim, Syria's director-general of antiquities and museums, said Sunday that sources in Palmyra informed him that ISIS members rigged the temple with large quantities of explosives and detonated them. There was uncertainty -- not unusual amid the chaos of the Syrian conflict -- over when exactly the damage was done to the temple, which dates from the first century.

Photos: How ISIS ravaged Palmyra's world treasures Photos: How ISIS ravaged Palmyra's world treasures Before: The ruins of the 2,000-year-old Temple of Baalshamin are seen in Palmyra, Syria, in 2007. The ISIS militant group took over the ancient city last year and razed parts of its World Heritage Site. Syrian government forces recaptured the ancient city from the terror group in March 2016. Click through to see the landmarks before and after ISIS' occupation. Hide Caption 14 of 15 Photos: How ISIS ravaged Palmyra's world treasures Palmyra was a caravan oasis when Romans overtook it in the mid-first century. In the centuries that followed, the area "stood at the crossroads of several civilizations" with its art and architecture mixing Greek, Roman and Persian influences, according to UNESCO. Hide Caption 15 of 15 Abdulkarim said it was blown up Sunday. But the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict, reported Sunday that its sources said ISIS blew up the temple about a month ago.

Read More 'They lied' The Syrian government's Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums is trying to find out more from people in Palmyra about the extent of the damage. "They destroyed an incredibly important architectural structure," Abdulkarim said. "It is the first structure in the Palmyra complex to be destroyed, although they recently destroyed two Islamic shrines nearby. "They said they would destroy the statues but not the structures themselves inside Palmyra," he said. "They lied." Irina Bokova, the director-general of UNESCO, said in a statement that the destruction of the temple was "a new war crime and an immense loss for the Syrian people and for humanity." News of the demolition of the temple comes less than a week after the observatory said ISIS militants had publicly beheaded Khaled al-As'ad , 82, the former general manager for antiquities and museums in Palmyra. ISIS fighters seized control of Palmyra and the nearby modern town of Tadmur in May, prompting fears over what the militants would do to the UNESCO World Heritage Site .

Track record of trashing heritage sites On top of its atrocities of rape, enslavement and killing, ISIS has also blown up other historical sites and destroyed or sold antiquities in the parts of Syria and Iraq it controls. The group says it considers religious shrines idolatrous. Dedicated to the Phoenician god of rain and fertility, the Temple of Baalshamin was a small shrine, the only part of a larger compound that survived the centuries somewhat intact, according to the Lonely Planet travel guide . "The temple is one of the most important and best preserved buildings in Palmyra," UNESCO said, noting that it "bears witness to the depth of the pre-Islamic history" of Syria. The Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums had previously said that ISIS had destroyed two ancient Muslim shrines, one in Palmyra and another a few kilometers away. Other monuments, temples and historic buildings have been mined, and a statue of a lion at the entrance to Palmyra's museum has been destroyed.

Palmyra | Syria | Britannica.com Palmyra Alternative Titles: Tadmor, Tadmur, Tudmur Related Topics Syria Palmyra, also called Tadmur, Tadmor, or Tudmur, ancient city in south-central Syria , 130 miles (210 km) northeast of Damascus . The name Palmyra, meaning “city of palm trees,” was conferred upon the city by its Roman rulers in the 1st century ce; Tadmur, Tadmor, or Tudmur, the pre-Semitic name of the site, is also still in use. The city is mentioned in tablets dating from as early as the 19th century bce. It attained prominence in the 3rd century bce, when a road through it became one of the main routes of east-west trade. Palmyra was built on an oasis lying approximately halfway between the Mediterranean Sea (west) and the Euphrates River (east), and it helped connect the Roman world with Mesopotamia and the East. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Monumental arch on the Grand Colonnade, Palmyra, Syria.

© RCH/Fotolia Ruins of the Grand Colonnade, Palmyra, Syria. © Shawn McCullars Although autonomous for much of its history, Palmyra came under Roman control by the time of the emperor Tiberius (reigned 14–37 ce). After visiting the city (c. 129), the emperor Hadrian declared it a civitas libera (“free city”), and it was later granted by the emperor Caracalla the title of colonia , with exemption from taxes. Palmyran woman, c. 150 ce. © Judith Weingarten The city thus prospered, and the 2nd and 3rd centuries ce were the great age of Palmyra and its extensive trading activities, despite obstacles that interrupted caravan trade with the East, and also in the face of instability around the Roman-controlled Mediterranean. When the Sāsānians supplanted the Parthians in Persia and southern Mesopotamia (227), the road to the Persian Gulf was soon closed to Palmyrene trade. These difficulties led the Romans to set up the personal rule of the family of Septimius Odaenathus at Palmyra.

He was appointed governor of Syria Phoenice by the emperor Valerian (reigned 253–260), but it was apparently his son, the emperor Gallienus , who conferred on Odaenathus the title of corrector totius Orientis (“governor of all the East”). Both Odaenathus and his eldest son, the heir apparent, were assassinated, however, reputedly at the command of Odaenathus’ second wife, Zenobia , who took control of the city and became an effective leader. Under her rule, the armies of Palmyra conquered most of Anatolia (Asia Minor) in 270, and the city declared its independence from Rome. The Roman emperor Aurelian , however, regained Anatolia in 272 and razed Palmyra the following year.

The colonnade of the main thoroughfare, with the ruins of a castle in the background, at Palmyra, … © remonaldo/Fotolia Damascus The city remained the chief station on the strata Diocletiana, a paved road that linked Damascus to the Euphrates, but in 634 it was taken by Khālid ibn al-Walīd in the name of the first Muslim caliph , Abū Bakr . After that, its importance as a trading centre gradually declined. The language of Palmyra was Aramaic ; its two systems of writing—a monumental script and a Mesopotamian cursive—reflect the city’s position between East and West. The great bilingual inscription known as the Tariff of Palmyra and the inscriptions carved below the statues of the great caravan leaders reveal information on the organization and nature of Palmyra’s trade. The Palmyrenes exchanged goods with India via the Persian Gulf route and also with such cities as Coptos on the Nile River , Rome , and Doura-Europus in Syria. The principal deity of the Aramaeans of Palmyra was Bol (probably an equivalent to Baal ).

Bol soon became known as Bel by assimilation to the Babylonian god Bel-Marduk. Both gods presided over the movements of the stars. The Palmyrenes associated Bel with the sun and moon gods, Yarhibol and Aglibol, respectively. Another heavenly triad formed around the Phoenician god Baal Shamen, the “lord of heaven,” more or less identical with Hadad . A monotheistic tendency emerged in the 2nd century ce with the cult of an unnamed god, “he whose name is blessed forever, the merciful and good.” The Temple of Bol, Palmyra, Syria. © Shawn McCullars Scientists Ponder Menopause in Killer Whales The ruins at Palmyra clearly reveal the network plan of the ancient city. Along the principal east-west street, named the Grand Colonnade by archaeologists, a double portico is ornamented with three nymphaea . To the south are the agora , the Senate House, and the theatre. Other ruins include a vast complex called Diocletian’s Camp and the chief Palmyrene sanctuary, dedicated to Bel, Yarhibol, and Aglibol; a number of significant ancient Christian churches have also been uncovered.

In architecture the Corinthian order marks almost all the monuments, but the influence of Mesopotamia and Iran is also clearly evident. In addition, art found on monuments and tombs reflects the influences of the surrounding Roman and Persian empires. The ruins of the ancient city of Palmyra were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1980. Tower tomb, Palmyra, Syria. Palmyra's Temple of Bel destroyed, says UN - BBC News BBC News Palmyra's Temple of Bel destroyed, says UN 1 September 2015 Close share panel Image copyright Unosat A satellite image confirms the main temple in the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria has been destroyed by Islamic State (IS) militants, the UN says. Syria's head of antiquities had suggested on Monday that the Temple of Bel was still standing, despite reports of a massive explosion at the weekend. But Unosat analysts said the main structure had been reduced to rubble, as well as a line of columns beside it. IS captured the Unesco World Heritage site from government forces in May.

"Unfortunately, the images we acquired do show that the main building of the temple has been destroyed," Einar Bjorgo, Unosat's manager, told the BBC early on Tuesday. Image copyright Reuters Image caption A pair of columns at the entrance to the cella are all that remain of the temple's inner court The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) considered the Temple of Bel - the great sanctuary of the Palmyrene gods - one of the most important religious buildings of the 1st Century AD in the East. Maamoun Abdul Karim, the head of the Syrian Department of Antiquities and Museums, said its destruction was a "catastrophe". "I feel very sad and I am very pessimistic... for the future of Palmyra," he told BBC Radio 5 live. "I am sure we will have more bad images [in the future] because these people... are ignorant, they are very criminal," he added. "They don't respect any image, any identity of the people." Ancient city of Palmyra Why IS destroys ancient sites Mr Abdul Karim had said on Monday that there was a large explosion at the Temple of Bel, but that he believed most of the site remained intact.

The BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut says the temple is bounded by a high perimeter wall, and the whole sprawling site of Palmyra is controlled by IS, so it would have been hard for outside witnesses on the ground to verify what had happened without putting themselves at risk. IS has ransacked and demolished several similar ancient sites that pre-date Islam in Iraq, denouncing them as symbols of "idolatry". The sale of looted antiquities is nevertheless one of the group's main sources of funding. It has also been accused of destroying ancient sites to gain publicity. Authorities removed hundreds of statues and priceless objects before IS overran Palmyra earlier this year. Last week, it was confirmed that another important site at Palmyra, the Temple of Baalshamin, had been blown up . Unosat released satellite images showing the extent of the damage , proving that parts were heavily damaged or completely destroyed. Earlier last month, the group beheaded 81-year-old Khaled al-Asaad , the archaeologist who had looked after the Palmyra ruins for 40 years.

Media captionHistorian Dan Cruickshank said any damage done by militants in Palmyra was ''an appalling loss'' The world-famous Greco-Roman ruins of Palmyra are in the desert north-east of the Syrian capital, Damascus. Syrian government forces have sought to drive IS out of the Palmyra area in recent months and there has been fierce fighting in nearby towns. Islamic State crisis: 'Mines planted in Syria's Palmyra' - BBC News BBC News Islamic State crisis: 'Mines planted in Syria's Palmyra' 21 June 2015 From the section Middle East Related Topics Close share panel Image copyright AFP Image caption Earlier this month images surfaced online purporting to show the IS flag flying over Palmyra Islamic State (IS) militants have planted landmines and explosives around the ancient Palmyra ruins, according to a group that monitors the war in Syria. Activists said it was unclear whether IS had laid the bombs to destroy the ruins or make the site secure from Syrian government forces. IS fighters seized the city, which is one of the most important historic sites in the Middle East, in May. Government forces are reported to be planning a bid to recapture the site.

The director of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel Rahman, told reporters that Syrian soldiers outside the city have brought in reinforcements in recent days, "suggesting they may be planning an operation". He said government forces had also launched heavy air strikes against the residential part of Palmyra in the past three days, killing at least 11 people. The group relies on a network of sources inside Syria for its information. Image copyright Reuters Image caption Palmyra was a popular destination for Western tourists before Syria descended into civil war IS took control of the ancient city last month, prompting fears the group would destroy the 2,000-year-old Roman-era ruins. They have already destroyed ancient sites in Iraq - most recently the ancient city of Nimrud, one of Iraq's greatest archaeological treasures. But so far there have been no reports of IS damage to the ruins or antiquities in Palmyra, which is known locally as Tadmur. 'The city is a hostage' Maamoun Abdulkarim, Syria's head of antiquities, told the Reuters news agency that the reports of explosives being planted by IS in Palmyra "seems true".

"The city is a hostage in their hands, the situation is dangerous," he said. Since capturing the city, IS has also taken control of a military airbase and a notorious prison nearby. The ancient ruins are situated in a strategically important area on the road between the capital, Damascus, and the contested eastern city of Deir al-Zour. More than 230,000 Syrians have died in Syria's civil war, which began after President Bashar al-Assad's forces tried to put down anti-government protests in March 2011. The Islamic State group, which grew out of al-Qaeda in Iraq, capitalised on the ensuing chaos, taking control of large areas of the country and setting up their headquarters in Raqqa in northern Syria. Beheaded Syrian scholar refused to lead Isis to hidden Palmyra antiquities | World news | The Guardian Islamic State Beheaded Syrian scholar refused to lead Isis to hidden Palmyra antiquities Khaled al-Asaad, 82, was interrogated by militants for a month before he was murdered in the ancient city A 2002 picture of Khaled al-Asaad in front of a rare sarcophagus from Palmyra depicting two priests dating from the first century.

Photograph: Marc Deville/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images Kareem Shaheen in Beirut and Ian Black in London Wednesday 19 August 2015 09.47 EDT First published on Tuesday 18 August 2015 17.50 EDT Close This article is 1 year old Islamic State militants beheaded a renowned antiquities scholar in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra and hung his mutilated body on a column in a main square of the historic site because he apparently refused to reveal where valuable artefacts had been moved for safekeeping. Khaled al-Asaad's enthusiasm for Palmyra was inextinguishable Read more The brutal murder of Khaled al-Asaad, 82, is the latest atrocity perpetrated by the jihadi group, which has captured a third of Syria and neighbouring Iraq and declared a “caliphate” on the territory it controls. It has also highlighted Isis’s habit of looting and selling antiquities to fund its activities – as well as destroying them.

Syrian state antiquities chief Maamoun Abdulkarim said Asaad’s family had informed him that the scholar, who worked for more than 50 years as head of antiquities in Palmyra , was killed by Isis on Tuesday. Asaad had been held for more than a month before being murdered. Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, said he had learned from a Syrian source that the archaeologist had been interrogated by Isis about the location of treasures from Palmyra and had been executed when he refused to cooperate. Khaled al-Asaad profile: the Howard Carter of Palmyra Read more Isis captured the city from government forces in May but is not known to have damaged its monumental Roman-era ruins despite a reputation for destroying artefacts it views as idolatrous. “Just imagine that such a scholar who gave such memorable services to the place and to history would be beheaded … and his corpse still hanging from one of the ancient columns in the centre of a square in Palmyra,” Abdulkarim said.

“The continued presence of these criminals in this city is a curse and bad omen on [Palmyra] and every column and every archaeological piece in it.” Palmyra-based activists circulated an unverified, gruesome image on social media of Asaad’s beheaded body, tied to a pole on a street in the city. A board in front of the body set out the charges against him, which accused him of loyalty to the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad , maintaining contact with senior regime intelligence and security officials and managing Palmyra’s collection of “idols”. Isis, which follows a puritanical interpretation of Islam, considers maintaining such ancient statues to be apostasy. According to Syrian state news agency Sana and the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Asaad was beheaded in front of dozens of people on Tuesday in a square outside the town’s museum. His body was then taken to Palmyra’s archaeological site and hung from one of the Roman columns.

A sledgehammer to civilisation: Islamic State’s war on culture Read more Amr al-Azm, a former Syrian antiquities official who ran the country’s science and conservation labs and knew Asaad personally, said the “irreplaceable” scholar was involved in early excavations of Palmyra and the restoration of parts of the city. “He was a fixture, you can’t write about Palmyra’s history or anything to do with Palmyrian work without mentioning Khaled Asaad,” he said. “It’s like you can’t talk about Egyptology without talking about Howard Carter. “He had a huge repository of knowledge on the site, and that’s going to be missed. He knew every nook and cranny. That kind of knowledge is irreplaceable, you can’t just buy a book and read it and then have that. “There’s a certain personal dimension to that knowledge that comes from only having lived that and been so closely involved in it and that’s lost to us forever. We don’t have that any more.” Before the city’s capture by Isis, Syrian officials said they moved hundreds of ancient statues to safe locations out of concern they would be destroyed by the militants.

Isis was likely to be looking for portable, easily saleable items that are not registered. Azm said Asaad had played a role in evacuating the contents of the museum before Isis took control, which meant he faced certain arrest. “He’d been there for so long and been part of that city for so long, maybe he figured he lived there all his life and he would die there too, and that’s unfortunately what happened,” he said. “It’s terrible.” Pinterest Palmyra before it was captured by militant group Historian Tom Holland said the news was distressing. “For anyone interested in the study of the ancient world, it comes as – to put it mildly – a shock to realise that ideologues exist who regard the curating of antiquities and the attendance of international conferences on archaeology as capital offences.” Palmyra flourished in antiquity as an important trading hub along the Silk Road. Asaad had worked over the past few decades with US, French, German and Swiss archaeological missions on excavations and research in Palmyra’s famed 2,000-year-old ruins, a Unesco world heritage site that includes Roman tombs and the Temple of Bel.

The Sana news agency said he had discovered several ancient cemeteries, caves and a Byzantine graveyard in the garden of the Palmyra museum. He was also a scholar of Aramaic, the lingua franca of the area before the rise of Islam in the seventh century. Looted in Syria – and sold in London: the British antiques shops dealing in artefacts smuggled by Isis Read more “Al-Asaad was a treasure for Syria and the world,” his son-in-law, Khalil Hariri, told the Associated Press. “Why did they kill him? Their systematic campaign seeks to take us back into pre-history. But they will not succeed.” In June, Isis blew up two ancient shrines in Palmyra that were not part of its Roman-era structures but which the militants regarded as pagan and sacrilegious. In early July, it released a video showing the killing of 25 captured government soldiers in the Roman amphitheatre. Unesco warned last month that looting had been taking place on an “industrial scale”. Isis advertises its destruction of sites such as Nimrud in Iraq but says little about the way plundered antiquities help finance its activities .

Stolen artefacts make up a significant stream of the group’s estimated multi-million dollar revenues, along with oil sales and straightforward taxation and extortion. Archaeological experts say Isis took over the already existing practice of illegal excavation and looting, which until 2014 was carried out by various armed groups, or individuals, or the Syrian regime. Isis initially levied 20% taxes on those it “licensed” to excavate but later began to hire its own own archaeologists, digging teams and machinery. The group invested more when the US-led coalition began to bomb oil fields and other targets and enforced punishments for looting without a licence. Palmyra before the fall: Why ISIS destruction sickens me - CNN.com Palmyra before the fall: Why ISIS destruction sickens me By Ivan Watson , CNN Updated 8:23 PM ET, Thu May 21, 2015 Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds. Photos: Palmyra before the fall In 2007, CNN Correspondent Ivan Watson visited the ancient desert city of Palmyra, Syria as a tourist on the bus.

It was an "astounding sight," he recalls: "A thousand year old city remarkably preserved in the middle of the desert." Now, the site is under grave threat from ISIS. Hide Caption 1 of 8 Photos: Palmyra before the fall The ruins of Palmyra are a cultural oasis. Even today, the landscape is filled with ancient Greco-Roman columns, arches, temples and an amphitheater. Hide Caption 2 of 8 Photos: Palmyra before the fall Once a wealthy caravan town, Palmyra had been an important stop on trade routes that once linked Rome to east Asia. Today this historical treasure stands at the mercy of ISIS fighters, who have seized the area. Hide Caption 3 of 8 Photos: Palmyra before the fall A sign hangs on the side of the road toward Palmyra, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Hide Caption 4 of 8 Photos: Palmyra before the fall The Crac des Chevaliers, a Crusader castle in Syria, was well-preserved when Watson visited in 2007. But fighting between rebels and Syrian regime forces has since damaged this historical site.

Hide Caption 5 of 8 Photos: Palmyra before the fall The castle was built in the 11th century and functioned for centuries as a military base. Hide Caption Photos: Palmyra before the fall "It looked like something that belonged in Normandy," remembers Watson. Hide Caption Photos: Palmyra before the fall The Crac de Chavaliers is pictured from afar on a hilltop. Hide Caption Story highlights Activists say ISIS captured modern city of Palmyra -- also known as Tadmur -- on Thursday Fears are growing that ISIS may unleash wrath on nearby ruins of the ancient city of Palmyra ISIS takes destruction of our common heritage to an entirely new level, says Ivan Watson (CNN) Palmyra: a 2,000-year old city that's remarkably preserved in the middle of the Syrian desert. And now, it's in the hands of ISIS. The agony of Syria's three-year war just got worse. Activists say ISIS captured the modern city of Palmyra -- also known as Tadmur -- on Thursday. Many of its residents will likely flee in terror to escape the public executions and torture that the group directs against its opponents.

JUST WATCHED MUST WATCH ISIS controls ancient city of Palmyra 02:06 In addition to the incalculable human cost of this conflict, there are now fears that ISIS may unleash its wrath on the nearby ruins of the ancient city of Palmyra. I was fortunate to visit Palmyra in 2007, as a tourist on a bus. Read More It was an astounding sight: a cultural and historical oasis of ancient Greco-Roman columns, arches, temples, and an amphitheater. My friends and I clambered up the theater's stone steps and imagined the spectacles our ancestors once witnessed there. This was once a wealthy caravan town that served as an important stop on trade routes linking Rome to east Asia. Seeing it left me humbled. It was a reminder that we are but small chapters in a much larger, longer human story. And now this treasure stands at the mercy of an army of marauding nihilists. ISIS reveled in the destruction of Sumerian statues in the Mosul Museum in Iraq. It made propaganda videos of the bulldozing and dynamiting of a 9th century BC Assyrian Palace in Nimrud.

Of course, ISIS is not the only group to have committed sins against world heritage in the Middle East. In its long battle for power, rebels and regime forces damaged the ancient bazaar in Aleppo, and scarred the imposing crusader castle called Crac de Chevaliers. JUST WATCHED

Question: In the news recently, in which country is the ancient city of Palmyra?
Answer: Syria